People used coin weights such as this in Egypt under the Fatimid dynasty (969-1171). This example weighs 5.72 grammes and we think it was used to balance the weight of two silver dirhams. It was produced in the reign of the caliph al-Hakim (996-1021), whose regnal name appears in its full form on the obverse. (This is the side of the coin that carries the main design.) The reverse is inscribed with the Shahadah (the brief Muslim creed) in the form used by the Shi'ite Fatimids.